Poets, it seems, don't hibernate. The first couple of weeks of 2016 have been jam-packed with poetry events and I've managed to squeeze in a few, despite a visit from the sinusitis fairy. My personal poetry fest kicked off before the new year, with two poems published in Ol' Chanty online. The issue also includes …
Category: writing
not getting any younger
It's a cliché and it's true - none of us are getting any younger. But facing up to the reality of ageing, in a society that prizes youthfulness and demeans or ignores old age, is not easy. So The Emma Press's new Anthology of Age feels like a small but much needed poetic intervention, a …
rounding off Mixed Borders
On Thursday evening there was a reading to celebrate the Mixed Borders scheme run earlier this year by the Poetry School in association with the Open Garden Squares Weekend. I've written previously about the scheme which, for most poets, led to a mini residency in a London park or garden in mid June. Over the …
strong stuff
Clothes can change your state of mind. Imagine you live in late Victorian times. You are in a state of extreme mental distress, and have been admitted to Bethlem Hospital. Perhaps you believe your soul has been lost, or all your organs have been removed, or some great harm is imminent. Early in your stay, …
Je suis Grecque
I am heliocentric. I am drama after drama. I am lemon, honey, olive groves. I am roadside weeds and fresh baked bread. I am Homer, Sappho, Socrates. I am both thalassa and Thanatos, a spartan Epicurean. Call me an oxymoron if you will. I am winding roads, sheer drops, wild thyme. Goatish tenacity. I am …
poets, gardens, roofs
In late April, I attended a one day workshop at the Poetry School, which offered the opportunity to be a poet-in-residence in a London park or garden as part of the Open Garden Squares Weekend. In the morning, we were bombarded with information and ideas about how to run a residency, and in the afternoon …
eight week review
It's just over eight weeks since I quit my job and time is doing that weird thing it seems to do of speeding up and filling up the more 'free' time one has. So I thought it might be good to take a step back and reflect on what I've done in that period. I've …
staying the course
I thought about calling this post 'I survived a poetry course'. But that would've been a tad melodramatic. I've just completed a six week poetry course on Monday evenings, based in the Marlene Dumas exhibition at Tate Modern and tutored by the amazing Pascale Petit. And I've surprised myself by really rather enjoying it. I …
not twiddling my thumbs
In my rebellious teenage years, if I expressed my desire to be a writer, the immediate 'helpful' suggestion was that I should pursue a career in journalism. I knew strongly this was not what I wanted to do, nor did I want anything so conformist as a career. So I made a conscious decision to …
Hilaire – Reborn
I'm very pleased to have this poem published on The Stare's Nest today. The poem is dedicated to Talha Ahsan, a British-born poet and translator with Asperger's syndrome. In 2012, having already been held in detention without charge in the UK for 6 years, he was extradited to the US - without any prima facie evidence being provided to a …
Hilaire 